Steeper down payments, higher property prices, heavy student debt loads and an inability to afford monthly mortgage payments are among the top obstacles facing Millenials, or Generation Y, looking to own a home, according to the poll.

Millenials remain concerned that home prices will continue to rise over the next year, with more than half of those polled expressing concern about being able to save enough for a big down payment. Only 33% of Boomers surveyed cited saving for a down payment as a concern.

Just under half, or 48%, of Gen Y-ers said they fret about not having the earning power to jump from renting to paying a monthly mortgage, while 13% of Boomers said that was a concern when they were buying their first homes.

Difficulty in securing a loan from the bank is another barrier to buying a home, according to about a quarter of the Millenials surveyed. But only 6% of Boomers said tight lending conditions were an obstacle in breaking into the housing market.

The study comes amid signs of cooling in Canada’s housing market, since Ottawa tightened mortgage rules last July. In a recent note, RBC said it expects mortgage loan growth will slow to about 2% to 4% in the next two years from 5.4% as home sales and prices cool. Loan growth reached a recent peak of 13% in May 2008, according to Geoffrey Kwan and Sean Adamick, analysts at RBC Capital Markets, an RBC unit.

Perhaps the most unique challenge faced by would-be Gen Y homeowners: student debt. Balancing student loan payments while saving for a home or paying a mortgage was cited as a barrier by 23% of Millenials. Compare that to 2% of Boomers.

Results were drawn from an online survey of 6,014 Canadians aged 18 and older — including 1,072 Millennials and 2,215 Boomers — conducted between January 10 and 25 of this year. Environics Research Group gathered the data on behalf of TD Canada Trust.